Running a lead generation business is a very lucrative venture. Many companies are now outsourcing their lead generation processes to save time. But it is also highly competitive.
Without active lead generation efforts, it is difficult to grow and scale your business. You can only serve clients you have. And to have clients you need an initial lead to convert to a customer.
What is a lead generation business?
A lead generation business creates and captures interest in a product or service to increase a client’s base and revenue. Most people interested in this business do not know how to start a lead generating business. In the subsequent paragraphs, we will address how to get into the lead generation venture.
How to start a lead generation business from scratch:
The following steps and procedures are essential if you consider venturing into this business.
1. Conduct and research on market feasibility
Niche and Demographics:
Different markets offer different value for leads. Highly competitive markets provide high value. How much is your client willing to pay for leads? What are the required demographics and physiographic like age, income bracket, place of origin, etc.?
You want to find the most profitable niche with a broad spectrum of clientele. For example, if your niche targets newlyweds with household incomes above $80,000, your leads will be of value to realtors, mortgage brokers, home renovation companies and insurance agents.
A market is more than demographics. Figure out the buying cycle, your competition, and new business opportunities. Get detailed on your buyer persona.
2. Price your services
What services does your business offer? Lead generation services are not limited to; search engine optimization, blogging, paid advertising, email marketing, and web page optimization
Pricing depends on a variety of factors: industry, company size, reputation, the degree of lead qualification, reputation, etc. What quotes are you offering on lead generation packages?
3. Calculate costs
Acquiring leads will eat into your time and pockets. Your business plan must cover lead acquisition strategies sustainably and profitably.
For example, if you decide to use content marketing to generate leads for your niche by offering free offers to your visitors; you need to estimate web hosting expenses, time to produce quality content and strategies to generate traffic among other costs.
Factor in your web designer’s fees, lead generation software costs and a personal computer compatible with your chosen database.
4. Buy license
You must be aware of state and federal laws governing telemarketing. This is in addition to standard business licensing and insurance cover in your state. Be mindful of license requirements for your chosen niche.
If you are generating leads for mortgage brokers, you need to be aware of the licensing requirements of the financial sector. In some states, your license depends on the type of information you gather, who your client is or how you sell the information. For example, in Georgia, you need a permit to sell leads on a commission basis.
5. Create a professional website
Have a personalized but professional website with automated features, which is easy to navigate and simple to collect quality leads. Create engaging content to lure in visitors and return customers.
Offer freebies to your visitors to make the products more alluring and catch more leads but only offer your run-downs after you have pre-qualified them.
Your website needs to be professional yet personalized with easy to navigate features and simple to capture leads. Use plenty of CTAs (call-to-action), create a landing page with valuable offers.
6. Get a database
A database is a framework with a set of software programs you install in your computer to help run your business efficiently. You will need to store your leads inside a database. Spreadsheets are complicated when searching for multiple criteria.
From a database, you can draw out reports based on your lead’s personal information effectively. To generate leads, most web hosting companies provide you with access to SQL.
However, you’ll need an experienced SQL programmer to connect your site to the database and avail the information to your clients. Therefore you need to create a payment system, security, and tracking software to protect your lead’s data.
7. Advertise for leads
Advertising is familiar with lead generation companies to hunt for leads. You can post content online to gather lead information by inviting consumers to get free offers in exchange for their personal details.
Get familiar with federal and state advertising laws before collecting personal data. For email marketing, get familiar with the CAN-SPAM Act, which lays down requirements for contacting people through email
Your goal is to produce quality traffic, attract offers and convert leads to quality customers. Invest in creating quality content so that when you advance your site, 50% of the job is done.
The most popular mediums to use are; Facebook, YouTube, Google ad words.
Adopt inbound and outbound marketing tactics into your lead generation strategies. Utilize marketing channels like social media marketing, targeted email campaigns, blogging and paid marketing.
8. Capture clients
After you have set up your lead generating framework, concentrating on capturing the interest of clients who will purchase leads from you. Research and contact qualified leads through targeted email campaigns for the specific product or service through phone calls.
9. Monetize your leads
Most solopreneurs can’t figure out how to start a lead generation business for insane profits. To grow your business, you need to have many clients to buy your leads. If you generate 100 leads daily, make sure your clients can handle that volume. You don’t want to be stuck with leads you can’t sell.
Be careful not to oversell the same leads because it will be difficult for your clients to close deals and they will less be likely to buy from you again making your business hard to scale.
Conclusion
In summary, a strong lead generation capacity is the foundation of any thriving business. You can operate a lead generating business very effectively as a solopreneur. With a high ROI (return on investment) and a wide range of clientele, lead generation business is the ultimate scalable business you need to venture in.